WO2008075927A1

WO2008075927A1 - Method for determining the motor activity of a person (sportsman) and a device for carrying out said method

Info

Publication number: WO2008075927A1
Application number: PCT/MD2007/000005
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eugen Moraru; Oleg Nicolaiciuc
Original assignee: Eugen Moraru; Oleg Nicolaiciuc
Priority date: 2006-12-21
Filing date: 2007-11-11
Publication date: 2008-06-26
Also published as: MD3614G2; MD3614F1; EA011542B1; EA200701570A3; EA200701570A2

Abstract

The inventive method for determining the motor activity of a person, more specifically of a separate member thereof (an arm), consists in fixing to the arm an electromechanical motion-sensitive device which is used in the form of a mechanism for charging a storage battery, in digitizing a charging current in the form of a motor activity measure, in computing, according said current, a value equivalent to the motor activity and in storing said value in a core memory in such a way that data items stored therein can be fetched, via a high-speed interface, into an external computer, for example, for storage in a database.

Description

METHOD FOR DETERMINING HUMAN MOTOR ACTIVITY

(ATHLETES) AND DEVICE FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION

The invention relates to the field of sports medicine and relates to a method for determining the motor activity of a person (athlete), and more specifically, a separate part thereof (arms or legs) and a device for its implementation.

A known method of recording human movement, which consists in carrying out high-speed photography, inputting images into a computer and its subsequent processing in order to calculate motion parameters, including motor activity. This method has several disadvantages: low accuracy of determining parameters due to various angles of the position of the subject in time; a lengthy process of computing, associated with the need to enter a large number of image frames into a computer and analyze it; involves certain lighting conditions of a person during the shooting; involves a person within the direct line of sight of movie camera (s); has a high cost.

There is another way to register the movements of a person or its individual parts, consisting in the fact that significant points of the human body are placed elements that are sensitive to changes in their position in space, using known means, record and process the received information using a computer to obtain data on the nature of movements person. In the known method, a number of passive reflective elements are used - tags that illuminate and conduct high-speed shooting with the help of 3 or more television cameras connected using a high-speed analog input channels with a specialized computer.

This method also has several disadvantages, because requires a mandatory presence of a person within sight, requires a person to be irradiated with various kinds of electromagnetic radiation (backlight) and requires the presence of additional equipment for highlighting tags, a device for implementing this method is characterized by high cost.

A number of similar methods are also known, based on measuring distances to marks on certain parts of the human body by measuring other physical quantities, based on the use of Hall sensors, electromagnetic, electrostatic and other sensors. All these methods and devices that implement them have common drawbacks: the need to expose a person to electromagnetic or electrostatic fields; limited scope due to the finite sensitivity of the sensors; lower accuracy than optical methods, high cost. The closest in essence to the invention are the method and device - RU 2257846 Cl “Method for recording human movements and a device for its implementation. The described method consists in the fact that at sensitive points of the human body are placed elements that are sensitive to changes in their position in space, using sensitive to the signals of these elements of the tools record the information received from them, and process the recorded information using a computer to obtain data on the nature of the movements of the person, according to the invention, on the human body ( example, on the arm) place one three-coordinate device for measuring angular deviations, including three angular velocity sensors, each of which is oriented in the direction of one of three mutually perpendicular axes (X, Y, Z) and record the signals from the output of these sensors in non-volatile memory, information from which is then used for further processing. Note that the description of the device implemented by this method indicates that it is autonomous, i.e. not related to other devices, including external computers, power supplies, etc. In other words, such a stand-alone device has batteries - electrochemical batteries or batteries from which the device is powered.

The objectives of the present invention are to provide a simpler way of recording the motor activity of a person (athlete), or rather a separate part of it (hand), which:

• would not require for its implementation the mandatory use of traditional sensors for measuring linear or angular velocities (semiconductor gyroscopes or accelerometers); would not require external exposure (illumination) of the subject; I would not require the subject to be tied to a certain limited territory - the range of sensors;

• would not require a specific orientation of a person relative to the means receiving sensor signals;

• would have a lower cost due to the lack of semiconductor displacement sensors;

• would have a simpler device structure (reduced hardware costs);

• would ensure longer operation of the measuring device by recharging the battery during operation.

The problem is achieved in that in the method and device for determining the motor activity of a person, at a significant point (for example, on the hand) instead of a three coordinate device for measuring angular deviations, including three semiconductor sensors of angular velocity (gyroscope), each of which is oriented in the direction of one of three mutually perpendicular axes (X, Y, Z), place an electromechanical device that responds to the movement of a person’s hand, similar to for example, the mechanism of recharging a watch, which acts as a mechanism for recharging a power battery (battery), and the battery charge current is a measure of a person’s motor activity. The charge current is digitized using an analog-to-digital converter and processed directly in the measuring device, the same data can be read into an external computer to save the results (for example, in the database of athletes).

Consider several options for the implementation of electromechanical devices that respond to the movement of a person’s hand, similar to the mechanism of recharging watches.

One embodiment of an electromechanical recharging device is that it comprises a disk segment mounted on a freely rotating axis located at the center of the circle of the disk segment. This segment of the disk during human movement can rotate freely due to gravity and inertia. The axis of the segment is connected to a clock spring, which can freely compress when the segment rotates in the corresponding direction, but cannot spin, because this is prevented by a mechanical latch. This spring is unwound relatively slowly through several gear wheels, and they drive a special wheel with an electric winding, which rotates in a magnetic field created by a system of permanent magnets. A winding wheel and a system of permanent magnets form a simple electric generator, because this wheel acts as a rotor. Thus, when a person walks, if the disk segment rotates in the direction coinciding with the direction of the spring plant, it is compressed. A compressed spring spins the rotor of a miniature electric generator (through a system of gears), which generates an alternating voltage of a certain magnitude.

The second option also has a disk segment mounted on a freely rotating axis located in the center of the disk circumference. This segment of the disk during human movement can rotate freely due to gravity and inertia. The axis of the segment is simultaneously the rotor of a miniature electric generator. When a person’s hand moves, and accordingly, when the disk segment rotates, a miniature electric generator generates an alternating voltage of a certain value.

The voltage from the output of the winding of the miniature generator passes through a rectifier diode bridge and enters the capacitor, on which the voltage is integrated, and then, through a constant resistor, it is supplied to the battery. Thus, the electromechanical device charges the battery during operation, and the charge current flowing through the constant resistor is equivalent to the motor activity of a person’s hand.

Obviously, such a device is much cheaper than, for example, a three-coordinate device for measuring angular deviations, including three semiconductor sensors angular velocity (gyroscope). For example, one Apalog Devices ADXRS 150EB angular velocity sensor costs $ 50 \ https: // www. apalog. honeycomb]. Those. a system of three sensors - respectively, more than $ 150. In addition, as already mentioned above, the constant recharge of the battery from which the stand-alone device is powered increases the time of its continuous operation.

T.O. Obviously, both simplification of the device, and a decrease in its cost, and an increase in the time of continuous operation. In addition, the proposed method and device: provide a sufficiently high measurement accuracy; do not require harsh lighting conditions or irradiation of a person with any fields; do not limit the area of a person's location; provide higher data recording speed than high-speed photography; allow you to register the movement of a person (or parts thereof) for a considerable time and at a considerable distance.

The invention is further explained by the description of a specific variant of its implementation and the accompanying drawing, which shows a functional diagram of a device for determining the physical activity of a person, according to the invention.

Figure l presents a functional diagram of a device for determining the motor activity of a person, or rather, a separate part thereof (arms, legs) containing an electromechanical charging device 1 with charging circuits (diode bridge, integrating a capacitor and a resistor) and a battery, an analog multiplexer 2, analog-to-digital converter 3, microcontroller 4, RAM unit 5 and high-speed USB 6 interface.

The outputs of the winding of the electric generator of the electromechanical charging device are connected to the corresponding inputs of the semiconductor rectifier bridge VD, the outputs of which are connected to the terminals of the integrating capacitor C, and through the constant resistor R with the corresponding outputs of the battery, the signals from both terminals of the constant resistor R are connected to the inputs of the analog multiplexer 2, the output which is connected to the input of the analog-to-digital Converter 3, the output of which is connected to the corresponding inputs of the microcon scooter 4, one group of outputs of which is connected to the control inputs of analog multiplexer 2, the second group of inputs / outputs of the microcontroller 4 is connected to the inputs / outputs of the memory block 5, and the third group of inputs / outputs of the microcontroller 4 is connected to the inputs / outputs of the high-speed USB interface 6, the output of which can be connected to an external computer.

The method of recording human movements will become clear from the description of the operation of the device.

The device operates as follows. When a person’s hand moves with a device fixed to it for determining motor activity, the electromechanical charging device 1 generates some alternating voltage, which is rectified on the diode rectifier bridge VD, is integrated on the capacitor C and through a constant resistor R enters the battery, recharging it (it is used to power a stand-alone device). Both outputs of the constant resistor R are connected to the inputs of the analog multiplexer 2. The signals from the outputs of the resistor R, formed by the battery charge current and equivalent to motor activity, are fed to the input of the analog-to-digital converter 3 through the analog multiplexer 2, which is controlled by the microcontroller 4. The signals are digitized to analog -digital converter 3, and from its output are fed to the inputs of the microcontroller 4, in which the calculation of motor activity and the accumulation of the obtained value in the block perativnoy memory 5, other inputs / outputs of microcontroller 4 are connected to the inputs / outputs of the high-speed USB interface 6, the output of which can be connected to the external computer for fast reading of the accumulated data. The nodes of the analog multiplexer 2, analog-to-digital converter 3, the microcontroller 4, the memory block 5, the USB 6 interface are internal nodes of the used modern microcontroller microcircuit C8051F342 from Silisop Laboratores. The advantages of the proposed method and device are:

• Reduced hardware costs compared to the prototype;

• Reducing the cost of the device compared to the prototype;

• Does not use any motion-sensitive semiconductor sensors;

• Provides longer battery life of an autonomous measuring device from the battery by recharging it during operation;

• No need for exposure to humans by external electrostatic, electromagnetic or other fields harmful to health;

• The test person is completely free from territorial restrictions (neither mounts, nor equipment used, nor visibility or reliable radio reception);

• The test person is free from a certain orientation in space, for example, so that the sensors are lit or turned towards the receiving antenna or photodetector;

• The registration speed with this method and device is significantly higher than in opposed devices, because not limited to the need for manual measurements, the bandwidth of communication channels, etc.

• The devices used in the claimed method are autonomous, i.e. during measurements and registration, they have neither communication with a computer nor external power, therefore, they do not have wires or other elements that interfere with the natural movement of the test person.

Claims

CLAIM

1. A method for determining the motor activity of a person (athlete), or rather a separate part of it (for example, hands), which consists in placing elements sensitive to changes in their position in space at significant points in the human body using signals sensitive to these elements funds record the information received from them, and process the recorded information to obtain data on motor activity, characterized in that one autonomous microcontroller device is placed on the human body (or rather, on the wrists) a device including an electromechanical device that responds to movement, which acts as a mechanism for recharging the battery, and the recharge current, which is a measure of a person’s motor activity, digitizes and calculates on its basis a value equivalent to motor activity that is accumulated in RAM, data from which can be read via a high-speed interface to an external computer, for example, for storage in a database.

2. A device for determining the motor activity of a person, comprising means for determining movement, an analog multiplexer, an analog-to-digital converter, a microcontroller, a high-speed USB interface, characterized in that the means for determining movement is made in the form of an electromechanical device that responds to movements of a person’s hand, similar, for example , a wristwatch recharging mechanism that recharges the battery, and a recharging current, which is a measure of motor activity and a person, measured on a resistor, the outputs of which are connected to the inputs of an analog multiplexer, the output of which is connected to the input of an analog-to-digital converter, the output of which is connected to the inputs of a microcontroller, the outputs of which are connected to the inputs of an analog multiplexer, a RAM block, and a high-speed USB interface.

3. The device according to claim 2, in which the electromechanical charging device comprises a disk segment mounted on a freely rotating axis located in the center of the circle of the disk segment, the axis of the segment is connected to a clock spring, which can freely compress when the segment rotates in the corresponding direction, but can spin only through a few gears that drive the rotor of a miniature electric generator, rotating in a magnetic field of permanent magnets, which produces when it is rotated and an alternating voltage a certain value.

4. The device according to claim 2, in which the electromechanical charging device comprises a disk segment mounted on a freely rotating axis located in the center of the circle of the disk segment, which is also the rotor of a miniature electric generator that generates an alternating voltage of a certain magnitude when moving.